Transporting vehicles such as damaged automobiles and the like, show cars, antique vehicles of various types and other similar transportation of vehicles has become quite popular in recent years and the development of transport trucks to convey such vehicles has been undertaken. Particularly in connection with the loading and conveying of many types of modern automobiles upon the beds of trucks, difficulties have developed especially in regard to loading many types of modern vehicles which have very substantial overhangs of the opposite ends with respect to the vehicles. This has been found to be particularly true with regard to the rear ends of relatively large automobiles and especially those which are low slung, i.e., if the lower surfaces of the opposite ends of the bodies, and especially the rear ends of such bodies, are spaced only a relatively short distance from a road surface upon which the vehicle travels. Accordingly, existing types of transport trucks which have pivoted deck members to receive the vehicles so as to dispose the decks at an acute angle to a pavement or road surface, it has been found in loading such vehicles, and especially by directing the rear end first toward the sloping deck surface of the truck, the lower edge of the body of the vehicle engages the sloping surface of the deck member while the wheels are still on the road surface or the like. This results in a scraping action and sometimes inflicts substantial damage to the vehicle, regardless of whether the vehicle is being loaded under its own power or by means of a winch and cable attached to the bed of the truck.
Various attempts to remedy the foregoing situation have been developed and the following patents are pertinent to illustrate not only the problem involved but also certain attempts to solve the same and thus, prevent damage to so-called low slung vehicles having substantially protruding rear or forward ends of the bodies which extend beyond the adjacent wheels:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,791--Moss Mar. 4, 1969 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,775--Pugliese Jan. 11, 1972 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,097--Skaggs Mar. 7, 1972 PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,315--Bouffard Apr. 7, 1981
The Skaggs patent, listed above, is representative of a conventional type of tiltable bed truck for having vehicles loaded thereonto while disposed at an acute angle to the pavement surface. The bed is pivoted above the housing for the rear wheels of the truck and elevating the front end thereof is accomplished by means of a fluid-operated cylinder unit 15, 16. It will be seen that the sloping bed 11 is disposed at an angle of about 18.degree. to the horizontal. In loading many types of modern automobiles with substantially protruding ends of the body, such ends will engage the bed 11 while the wheels are still on the horizontal pavement. This presents difficulties in regard to having the vehicle loaded under its own power or, if pulled upon the bed by a winch, damage can be sustained to the vehicle.
The patent to Pugliese discloses a bellows arrangement for permitting the truck bed to be disposed at a very low angle to the horizontal when the bellows is deflated and after loading, the bellows is inflated to dispose the bed of the vehicle at substantially normal elevation upon a road surface or the like.
The patent to Bouffard utilizes a multiple rear wheel assembly connected to the rear end of the chassis of a vehicle by means of vertical hydraulic cylinders at opposite sides, one end of the cylinder units being connected to the flexible, semielliptical spring 18, the opposite ends of the cylinder unit being connected to a connecting member extending between the longitudinally spaced pairs of rear wheels for the vehicle. This represents a form of mechanism which is at least somewhat capable of solving the aforementioned problem and the drawings of the patent actually illustrate one end of a vehicle in phantom disposed in a certain position with respect to the sloping deck of the truck to show a loading problem which is involved.
The present invention provides what is believed to be an improved structure of a transport truck to have vehicles of various kinds loaded thereon and also transport them to desired locations. The invention is applicable to conventional types of transport trucks having tiltable bed units but includes improved means of a very simple nature by which the ultimate angle at which the bed of the vehicle can be disposed and is substantially lower than the lowest angle to which the bed normally can be positioned in the absence of the present invention. Details and advantages of the invention now will be described.